Sunday, June 11, 2017

On graduation speeches

Ferdinand, of course--who else better to represent a valedictorian's dreams?

It is not possible to have the best day of your life—none of
us can grasp a day’s worth of living in a moment’s thought.

But we can have wonderful moments. Indeed, moments are all
we have, wonderful or not, and ranking them, if one is paying attention, becomes
impossible, because one pays attention.

A few of my favorite things--photos live in moments, not days

So in this season of graduation speeches, where young folks spew
out platitudes they still believe, remind them that while what they want is not
possible, what is possible can be more than what they realize they wanted.

Otherwise it just falls back into cynicism, and mortality
does not mix well with cynicism.